Holiday Weekend

Today's photographer was Patrick.  He took a candid shot of our classroom during study time for a test. Great perspective shot Patrick!

Please remember that this a three-day holiday weekend.  No school on Monday.  Picture day is on Tuesday. Have your child dress in uniform and bring your order sheet with payment.

Next week we will also be doing ITBS testing.  Make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast next week.  Also have them bring a book from home to read when they are done.

Today we had our end of the year awards.  Congratulations to our recipients: Most improved - Jose, Most Respectful - Collin, and Student of the Month - Dylan.

We talked about changing our world

today - even if it is just a smile.  Our quote of the day is from Albert Schweitzer, "The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others."

Field Trip

Today's photographer was Isabelle.  She likes the play structure and says that she has a lot of great memories playing on it.

The exciting news today is that we have our first field trip planned for September 25th.  It is to Florida Ecosafaris.  We will be taking a coach safari ride.  You can look up more information at http://floridaecosafaris.reachlocal.com/?scid=1966304&kw=13483078&pub_cr_id=808531028.  More detailed information and release forms will be forthcoming.  Students will be free and parents who want to join us are $15. 

Tomorrow is our end-of-the-month awards ceremony.  Please arrive at 8:30 if you would like to join us. 

Today I am sending home a flyer on co-ed flag football.  If we can have 7 students from our class participating we will be able to make a team.  Please let me know tomorrow if your student will be able to participate.

Tomorrow we will be finishing up our diaromas.  Your student might like to bring in some materials to complete their project. 

Tomorrow the 4th graders are having their Chapter 1 Test in math.  We will also have all of our spelling and Bible work and quizzes tomorrow and thinkcentral assignments are also due.

We are studying about acceptance in Bible.  Our quote today is from Martin Luther King, Jr, "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

Typing Homework

Josue took a picture of our sink and tissues.  We have a lot of school children sick and so he wanted to remind everyone to wash their hands and use their tissues.  Thanks for the reminder Josue!

The students were sent home with a http://www.typingweb.com/ assignment to do at home.  They need to have completed lessons and 1 and 2.  Parents, please make sure they are using the correct hand positions.

Reminder that on Friday, the 4th graders have their first Chapter Test in Math.

Please eat right, drink lots of water, and get plenty of rest! "The greatest wealth is health."  ~Virgil

Typing

Dylan took a self-portrait today by the tire swing - his favorite recess activity.  Great shot Dylan!

Yesterday the students started on typing lessons.  They are very excited and asked me to give them some more sites where they could practice.  http://typing.weebly.com/typing-games.html, http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/typing/, and
http://www.learninggamesforkids.com/keyboarding_games.html.

Map Skills

David was our photographer of the day and he took a picture of his classmate Kristen.  It was her birthday today!

I changed the homework sheets today to reflect the weekly assignments.  Today their Bible verse and spelling words were given.  The Bible verse this week is found in John 13:34-35, "And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are my disciples." We did math facts quizzes and everyone improved in at least one area.  I am very proud of the students and want to encourage them to keep working on these, especially in subtraction and division.

We are learning map skills in Social Studies and today we used this site that the students enjoyed: http://www.geographypods.com/.

Parents Please Read!!!

Parents, I would REALLY appreciate it if you would read this article that was in today's USA Weekend.
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/topstories/article/244049/175/What-Teachers-Want-You-to-Know

What Teachers What You to Know


Award-winning principal Eric Sheninger shares secrets to make everyone's school experience better. 

Reading

Collin was our photographer of the day and this will also be our quote for the day.  These young people can change the world TODAY!!!  Kindness has a ripple effect.  We watched this video in class this week. http://youtu.be/nwAYpLVyeFU

Your students can now go to http://raz-kids.com/login.   Log in with my teacher name as mvelbis.  They will have personal tabs and I can track their progress.  Please encourage them to do the comprehension questions too.

Grading is in full swing.  ALL assignments are graded and given credit.  Please make sure that you are helping your student stay accountable for their assignments.

Have a great weekend!

Homework

Today's photographer was Joshua.  He took a picture of a picture of Jesus in the classroom.  We pray every day that Jesus would be in our classroom.

Today's artist is Collin.  The picture below is his representation of this week's Bible verse found in Isaiah 49:15-16, "Can a woman forget her nursing child?  Can she have no pity on the son to whom she gave birth?  Even these may forget but I will not forget you. See, I have marked your names on my hands."

Reminders for the assignments that are due tomorrow:
Bible - verse written 5X and illustration / verse quiz
Math - assignments and 5th graders have quiz
Spellingcity assignments, definitions and words written 5X and spelling/vocab quiz
PLEASE bring a shoebox and other materials for our diaromas that we will be starting tomorrow. Thank you!

Bring a shoebox on Friday

Today's photographer was Joey.  He took a picture of our United States map, which was very appropriate since we will be studying the different regions of the United States in Social Studies.

This week we made posters of the different kinds of landscapes in the U.S.  This Friday we will be working on diaromas of our favorite landscape.  They may choose from prairie, coastal, mountain or desert.  Please have them bring a shoebox and any other materials that would make their graded project better - such as small plastic animals or vegetation, shells, rocks, etc...  You can go to this link to see an example.  
http://carlaschauer.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/brynna-diorama_web.jpg

We discussed and practiced the procedures for a lockdown and fire today.  The students were very calm and did a great job.

Tomorrow I will be able to finish doing the DIBELS reading fluency test with all of my students.  Please make sure that your child is reading every night.  Also ask them questions about what they are reading for comprehension.  Encourage them to read books at or beyond their grade level and in subjects that interest them.

We began our day looking up praises to God.  It was a great way to start the day! "I remember the days long ago. I reflect on all that you have done. I carefully consider what your hands have made." Psalm 143:5

Being Thankful

We watched this video today about being thankful.  http://youtu.be/GhOUaszMGvQ  I gave my students a challenge to write 1,000 things down that they are thankful for by the end of the school year. "God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today.  Have you used one to say "thank you?"  ~William A. Ward 

Nettly was our photographer of the day.  She took a picture of a classmate holding up one of our social studies projects.  We have been studying about the different regions in the US. This poster was about the mountains.

Tomorrow I will give the students a copy of all of their usernames and passwords to the websites we use in class so that they can also use them at home.

Reminder: 4th graders have a mid-chapter quiz tomorrow.

Edmodo - Sign up TODAY

Please sign up your student at https://www.edmodo.com/. Use the code pd1cxc.  We will be using this site A LOT in class for different assignments.  Please write down their username and password and send it to school with them so that I will have a copy also.

Thank you!

Stewardship

“I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.” — John D. Rockefeller, Sr

I have a picture of a clock because stewardship is not just about money but about all our resources including time.  What are the top priorities in our life?  All of our resources should reflect these priorities.

According to the American institute of CPA’s Americans spend $1.22 for every $1.00 earned. On About.com, Erin Huffstetler, gives these guidelines for frugal living, “In actuality, you only need four things to survive: A roof over your head. Enough food and water to maintain your health. Basic health care and hygiene products. Clothing (just what you need to remain comfortable and appropriately dressed). Everything that goes beyond this – a big house, name-brand clothes, fancy foods and drinks, a new car – is a want.”

I hope that by educating our young people on the differences between wants and needs and being good stewards they will not make the same mistakes that has gotten our country into it's current financial troubles.

Some really great websites are www.famzoo.com and http://kids.usa.gov.

Art and Enemy Pie

Samantha is our photographer of the day.  She likes this poster in our room because it has all the different names of Jesus on it.

Our artist of the day is Dylan.  He did a great job on his Wycinanki (vy-chee-nan-kee) project.  Wycinanki is the art of Polish paper cutting. Wycinanki is a Polish word for paper-cut designs. These beautiful paper cut-outs have been used to decorate the interior of Polish homes since the early 19th century.

Today in class I read the book Enemy Pie by Derek Munson.  This week we have talked a lot about not judging others.  Jesus gave us this advice in Matthew 22:39,  "Love others as well as you love yourself."

Please bring homework sheets back on Monday.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Serving

Author of the Day:

One day I was reading a stop sign and I noticed how hard it was to see it.
I squinted my eyes a bit.
But that didn't help me see it.
My mom said I needed glasses.
But I told her I could even see in all my school classes.
I started to worry but there was no hurry.
Because we had all day to get my classes.
When I got my glasses what was in my eyes was the sun.
But it turned out that I had a lot of fun.
By David Adjodha - 5th Grade
From the Writer's Workshop

Photographer of the day: Kristen. She took a picture of her friends on the tire swing at recess.

Today we logged onto Khanacademy.org.  To make our class uniform I gave them a username that is their first and last name put together - no spaces or capitals. EX: michellevelbis    The username is their birth month and year - no spaces or capitals.  EX: february13.  Most of the common core standards are on this website in exercises and videos.  An amazing free tool for your student.  
Please note that Wednesday and Fridays are pizza days.  The DAS students have the option of buying pizza for $1.50 a slice, $.50 a juice box and $.50 a popsicle.  

We have been discussing the following quote this week from Martin Luther King, Jr, "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve."  Ask your student what they think this means.

Cooperation

Today we did a object lesson on cooperation.  Take a single balloon and sit on it and it will pop.  Take many balloons and put them under an overturned table and MANY people can stand on them because the weight is distributed.  When we work together we can accomplish so much more!!!

We are doing DIBELS this week which is a reading fluency test.  The students are doing a great job!  Some have even improved over the summer, which means they were reading this summer - exactly what a teacher likes to hear.

Today our photographer was Joey.  He took this picture of the woods behind our school because, " God created it and it is a home for the animals."

Math Makes Thing Simpler

The students received their math books today.  Yesterday they took a math facts pretest that I sent home with them today.  I will keep records of their scores.  We talked about goals and that they needed specific plans to meet their goals.  Ask your student to share their goals and plans with you on how they will improve their math scores.  At the end of each nine weeks they will be tested and will need to get the following number of correct problems in three minutes: 54=A, 48=B, 42=C, 36=D, 30=F. Muliplication.com is another great site to work on math facts.

Here is a great math quote by S. Gudder, "“The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple.”

Today's photographer was Patrick and he took a picture of his friend Jose.

Please make sure your child has all of their school supplies, signed papers and homework sheet for tomorrow.  Thank you!!!

First Day of School

We had a party to celebrate the first day of school! I wanted to celebrate a new school year, making new friends and learning new things. We also talked about running to win.  Our Bible verse this week is 1 Corinthians 9:24-25, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever."  Below is a link to a video that helped explain this verse.

http://youtu.be/dPmxXTfWOvg

We also took a math fact quiz.  Please have your student work a few minutes every day on their math facts.  Mathfactspro.com is a great site.  We will also be working on Khan Academy.  I need your permission to set up an account for your child.  I will send that form plus our classroom guidelines home tomorrow so that you can sign them and return them ASAP.  Thanks for your support and prayers!

Prayer

Tomorrow is the first day of school! I hope you go to bed on time and start off your day with a healthy breakfast.

Parents please note that by the end of the week I need your students to add 2 more pocket folders and 1 more composition notebook to our school supply list.

Please join me in praying for our school.  Tonight starts off the "40 Days of Prayer" for DAS.

"Give us grace and strength to preserve. Give us courage and gaiety and the quiet mind. Spare to us our friends and soften to us our enemies. Give us the strength to encounter that which is to come, that we may be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath and in all changes of fortune, and down to the gates of death, loyal and loving to one another." ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Burn Bright

This is the new bulletin board in my room.  Self explanatory. Shine for Jesus every day.

 "It's better to burn brightly for half as long than to be a dim lingering light." ~Roland Gift

Come see the bulletin board for yourself tomorrow at our DAS registration, which starts at 1:00 pm and parent orientation, which starts at 6:00 pm.

Let's burn bright in 2013-2014!!!

A teacher's desk tells a lot about them.  I am rearranging and cleaning my new room and desk. It's kind of like getting a new pair of shoes or jeans...I am trying to get used to it and make it my own.  So far you can see that I have sanitizer on it (I am a germophobic), I have my computer which is essential to every part of my teaching day, a water bottle (I know it's good for me), a jar of pens, a picture of my family, etc...

What's on your desk?  What's on the desk of your heart?  What does it tell about you? I hope that my desk and my heart are billboard signs for Jesus. "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Cleaning

Cleaning.  I know I am weird but I actually like it.  It's part of that whole "new beginning" experience. Clean slate.  It's what we are doing at the school right now to prepare. It's what I ask God to do for me every day.  "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10 

Hopefully you can come out this Sunday, August 4, from 9 to noon for our school work bee.  All hands would be appreciated!  With a little Windex , elbow grease and a right spirit, DAS will start the year off with a sparkle!





10 Great websites for Kids from the School Library Journal

http://www.thedigitalshift.com/2013/07/k-12/ten-websites-added-to-alscs-great-websites-for-kids/